The Edinburgh chapel built for a Scots soldier and his last story now told
There is a corner of Edinburgh that is forever Lieutenant Robin Tudsbery.
In the soldier’s honour stands a chapel in Edinburgh, built by his parents after their only son never returned from the Second World War.
Lieutenant Robin Tudsbery, of the Royal Horse Guards, was killed aged 25 in the north of Germany in April 1945 during the final manoeuvres of the war, his last moments never fully known or understood.
In that void of loss, The Robin Chapel in Craigmillar was created by his parents, then of the Champfleurie Estate in West Lothian, to serve as a place of peace, calm and contemplation.
But now, the precise circumstances of Lieutenant Tudsbery’s death have been shared with his family after a research project in Lower Saxony discovered the final fate of the Scot - and that of 16 other British Army soldiers who died in the same area.
While it was known that Lieutenant Tudsbery was killed after his tank hit a mine while crossing a narrow stretch of water, it was never known where exactly the soldier died, or where the field grave was dug to hold what remained of him and his fellow fighters, including Trooper Donald Cameron, of Leith.
Robin’s family are among those relatives of the fallen who have now visited the village of Kutenholz in Lower Saxony to complete the story and see the memorials built in honour of the fallen.
.jpeg?trim=0,6,0,5&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
Julian Tudsbery, a cousin of Robin, of Gloucestershire, said: “We always knew that Robin had been killed right at the end of the war but never knew exactly where, or how. The research resulted in us going over to Kutenholz and seeing the exact location where they were killed and where the mine was put under the road.
“It was quite moving and emotional to just be standing there knowing what had happened all those years ago.
He added: “It has been really heartwarming to know that people in Germany actually cared about our British soldiers.”
The research has been carried out by the Kutenholz Memorial Group, a group of volunteers led by Debbie Bülau, who have sought to identify all those who fell victim to the war in their home area and share the details with their families, where they can be traced.
As well as Allied and German soldiers, Ms Bülau and her colleagues have identified children of forced labourers, concentration camp prisoners, victims of Nazi psychiatry and Prisoners of War, with relatives of those who suffered traced where possible.
Ms Bülau, who was awarded a British Empire Medal earlier this year for her work, said: “It is so sad that over all the years, they were forgotten. Nobody spoke about them anymore. I think people can die twice, once when they die and the second time they die when nobody talks about them anymore.
“I think all of these people who died in our area, they didn’t want to be there. I think at least what we can do is remember them all and tell their stories so that they are never forgotten again. I think it is especially important that the families know that we do remember their loved ones.”
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Last night, an exhibition of the work of the Kutenholz Memorial Group, called Remembrance and Reconciliation, opened at the Centre for Military Research at the Craiglockhart Campus of Edinburgh Napier University.
“This exhibition stands as a powerful example of grassroots civic engagement. It movingly illustrates the enduring importance of confronting and understanding the personal tragedies of the victims of National Socialism—even 80 years after the end of the war,” a statement from the Centre for Military Research said.
The opening of the exhibition, which was supported by Christiane Hullmann, the German Consul General in Scotland, featured a performance by the Robin Chapel Choir.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.